Send me mail

At this address:

Laura Smith, PCV
Corps de la Paix
BP 222
Nouakchott, Mauritania
WEST AFRICA

This is changed from earlier. Also, just want to re-state that padded envelopes are less expensive and travel quicker than boxes. (My dad says thanks for being so good to me and taking the time and resources to send me cool stuff.)

Land of Plenty

America is pretty much the beautiful and plentiful land I remembered it to be. I had forgotten one thing though: the overwhelming amount of choices.

Grocery stores, for example. The fruit section is humongous and split between organic and regular. Once you've decided environmentally-conscious or not, the type of fruit options is endless. Melons, citrusy stuff, crunchy types, pre-sliced, dried, packaged, free-floating. Fruit madness. The apples section on its own hosts about six different kinds. I have no idea how I ever chose anything before Mauritania, but I am incapable of it now- asking for guidance from the people unfortunate enough to accompany me to the store.

Dental hygiene products overwhelm me with the flavors and sizes and promises of whitening abilities or tartar prevention. Jeans shopping is a nightmare with limitless cuts and lengths and colors and shapes.

Coffee shops are insane. Everything from size, amount of sweetener (and type), level of caffeine, flavor shots, whipped cream or bald, frozen or hot, fatty or not- how do Americans order when the selection is so diverse and delicious?



Man. I'm ready to return to a land in which the choice for breakfast is bread or bread and the only refreshing and available drink is water.

Why Ithaca is a-ok

I spent my first week in the states hanging in Ithaca, NY. Besides freezing my tail off and gaining 5 kilos, I got to see why that college town is almost as cool as my own Bloomington.

For example, "Dragon Day" is an event at Cornell in which the freshmen architects spend tons of time and money building a giant dragon which the engineers burn down as soon as it is complete. Kev and I thought standing in the snow and wind to watch a bunch of firemen put out some smoke was pretty sweet. Next time we'll be sure to get there in time to see the actual fire.

There's also a laundromat in which all of the dryers and washing machines have names. The washing machines are labeled with words such as Noah's Ark and things referring to water. All the dryers bear name tags referring to intense heat, such as Dante's Inferno.



If you take the time to visit Ithaca, I suggest stopping by a hockey game. We witnessed several fights and a monster mascot on ice skates. Also, the chemical engineering lab boasts some giant machines that do something that is totally beyond me. Just be sure, if you're passing through, to go the month of July. I think it's the only time of year there isn't a nightly frost.

Julie the P gets hitched

Fancy toenails, mini milkshakes, beach backdrop and pre-ceremony cocktail hour...we couldn't have asked for a more appropriate wedding weekend for the oldest Smith sister. While my main reason for a trip to the USA was to eat a Big Mac from McDonald's, Julie's wedding provided a convenient excuse to catch a plane.

My personal highlight was watching Michelle and Alice weep in front of everyone, but many other people enjoyed the poem the girls wrote, so below is the final stanza. Cheers, to Jules and Drew.

"We couldn't be more thrilled with Julie's final choice
The two of you together is a reason to rejoice.
This day has been more special than any other,
Hey! It's about time we finally had a brother!"

WAISTing away...

Peace Corps Mauritania had a few hold ups on the drive down (see above pic) but we made it to Dakar, Senegal in time to win a softball tournament for like, the 20th year in a row. This get away weekend was sprinkled with parties and pool time, but the highlight was definitely the homestay.
Each year, Peace Corps provides volunteers with homes of Americans in which to stay the few days. My host works for the embassy, and was pretty much awesome. He fed us cereal in the morning, and home made ice cream at night. I slept on a mattress and woke up to the smell of fresh bread. It was like a mini-America over looking the ocean.

I want to mention again that we were the champions of the tournament. (Todd, I hope you're reading this and recalling how much we dominated over the silly Gambian teams.) Despite standing in the outfield with beers in our hands, despite innings in which no one wore pants, Mauritania rocked the WAIST (West Africa Invitational Softball Tournament) world.